Florida salon licensing

How to get a salon license in Florida

To open a salon in Florida you need a Cosmetology Salon License for the business, issued by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), on top of the license each stylist or technician holds. It costs $90 to the state (license fee $40 plus application fee $50) and is renewed every 2 years for $45. Every fact below is quoted from the state's own pages, read on October 17, 2026.

Licensed by: DBPR
Business license: Cosmetology Salon License
New salon fee: $90
Renewal: Every 2 years, $45
Inspection before opening: No, after opening
Owner must hold a license: Not stated
Booth renters need a license: Not stated
Barbershops: Own license: Barbershop License

Licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).Apply with DBPR License lookup The state's own words

Step by step

Opening a salon in Florida

1
Make sure everyone who will do services is licensed. The salon license covers the business; each stylist, barber, nail technician or esthetician needs a Florida license of their own, which you can check in the state's license lookup. The Florida cosmetology, barber, nail and esthetician licenses page lists each one's training hours, fees and renewal.
2
Apply for the Cosmetology Salon License with DBPR (application), paying $90 to the state (license fee $40 plus application fee $50). Apply before you open: the business needs its own license to operate.
3
Expect inspections after you open. DBPR does not inspect before opening, but it does inspect licensed salons, so be ready from day one.
4
Put the renewal in your calendar. The salon license is renewed every 2 years for $45.
5
Then the local paperwork (general advice, not from the board). Register the business with the state, get a city or county business license where one is required, and check zoning and the building permits for your build-out with the city before you sign a lease.

These are the license steps. The full opening checklist for Florida puts them in order with everything else a new salon needs: registering the business, taxes, insurance, hiring and getting booked before you open. For the inspection itself, the Florida salon inspection checklist lists every sanitation rule an inspector checks.

Florida's $90 for a new salon is below the middle of the 46 states with a published fee, $123.

Good to know

What else Florida asks of a salon

The salon license must be issued and posted before the salon opens for business.
A new salon application is required for a change of location, name, or ownership, and any of those changes voids the previous license.
A mobile salon needs its own license type, the Mobile Cosmetology Salon (COSMO 6), listed separately from the fixed-location Cosmetology Salon License.

Sources

What Florida's official pages say

Each fact above, in the words of DBPR's own pages, rules or statutes, read on October 17, 2026. Fees and rules change: confirm with the board before you apply.

The salon license: “Cosmetology Salon License (COSMO 6)”
myfloridalicense.com
Fees for a new salon: “The salon license fee shall be forty dollars ($40.00).”
flrules.org
“In addition, a non-refundable application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be submitted with the salon license application.”
flrules.org
Renewal: “Cosmetology Salon | N/A | $45.00 | 11/30/EVEN Year”
myfloridalicense.com
Inspection: “All salons will be inspected, with the exception of flea market salons, after the license has been issued.”
myfloridalicense.com
Barbershops: “No barbershop shall be permitted to operate without a license issued by the department.”
leg.state.fl.us
“Each barbershop shall display, in a conspicuous place, the barbershop license”
leg.state.fl.us
“The application fee for a barbershop license shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00).”
flrules.org
“The fee for the issuance of an original barbershop license shall be fifty dollars ($50.00)”
flrules.org
Who licenses salons: “There is created within the department the Board of Cosmetology consisting of seven members”
leg.state.fl.us
Also good to know: “A Florida cosmetology salon license must be issued and available for posting before a salon can open for business.”
myfloridalicense.com
Also good to know: “A new salon application must be submitted for a change of location, name or ownership.”
myfloridalicense.com
Also good to know: “Mobile Cosmetology Salon (COSMO 6)”
myfloridalicense.com

Questions

Florida salon licenses, answered

How much is a salon license in Florida?

A new Cosmetology Salon License costs $90 to the state (license fee $40 plus application fee $50) and is renewed every 2 years for $45. That is the state's fee only: build-out, equipment and opening stock are most of the cost of opening (see what it costs to open a salon).

Do you need a license to own a salon in Florida?

Florida's official pages we read do not say whether the owner personally needs a cosmetology license. What they do require: the business holds a Cosmetology Salon License. If you are not licensed yourself, ask DBPR before you sign a lease.

Is a new salon inspected before it opens in Florida?

No, not before opening. DBPR inspects salons after the license is issued, so the salon must meet the sanitation rules from its first day.

Does a barbershop need a different license in Florida?

Yes. Barbershops have a license of their own in Florida: the Barbershop License ($125 for a new shop).

Plan the rest

Before you sign a lease

Salon licenses in other states

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